"Thanks, Rampage-san!"
"An honor to race together!"
"No prob. Join my stream sometime," Rampage said.
"As a guest?!"
"Yup, squid-style~!"
"Squid-style~!" they echoed.
Practice wrapped, Rampage sipped a drink. With February Stakes as her next dirt race, she'd requested joint training with dirt runners, who welcomed her eagerly.
"Good work," Minamisaka said.
"Progress check?" Rampage asked.
"About 70%. I'll push it to 100% by race day," he replied.
"Got it," she nodded.
More effort needed. Dirt G1s weren't turf—she had to master both.
"Turbo full throttle!" Turbo roared.
"Hold that pace, Turbo! Strike early!" Nature coached.
Turbo and Nature trained fiercely nearby, prepping for their Classic debuts: Turbo in the Kisaragi Sho, Nature in the Kyodo Tsushin Hai, both G3 1800m races. Their first Classic steps fueled their fire.
"Turbo and Nature look sharp," Minamisaka noted.
"Yup. You nailed it too, Ikuno," Rampage said.
"Flawless race plan execution," Ikuno replied.
Ikuno had won the Kyoto Kinen before Tokai Stakes, outpacing expectations despite her second-place shadow behind Rampage. Unmarked as the favorite, she dominated.
"Ikuno-senpai was unreal!" Ticket gushed.
"Wanna debut already, huh? Wait for next year. What about Rice and Tanhoiza?" Rampage asked.
"Early debuts for experience. Their peers are tough," Minamisaka said.
"Tressen's dragon, huh?" Rampage smirked.
Rice and Tanhoiza's year included monsters: Sakura Bakushin O for sprints, Nishino Flower for miles, and Miho no Bourbon for mid-distances. Bourbon, the "slope prodigy" and "cyborg," was a second consecutive undefeated Dual Crown horse after Teio. Originally short-distance bred, her trainer's distance-stretching regimen led to a Derby win. A nightmare for Rice and Tanhoiza.
"Bourbon did four hill climbs yesterday," Rice said.
"I maxed at two…" Tanhoiza sighed.
"Two's still badass," Rampage assured.
"Same big-lead style as me. Minami-chan, can they beat Bourbon?" Rampage asked.
"Long-distance, definitely. Mid-distance, 2400m gives them a shot, but shorter gets brutal," Minamisaka said.
Both stayers, Rice and Tanhoiza thrived in long races but struggled to maximize mid-distance strength. Their challenge: leveraging stamina for shorter runs.
"Gotta outrun Bourbon. Worst case, I'll play her stand-in for training. Big lead? I won't lose," Rampage grinned.
"World-record holder's handy here," Minamisaka said.
"Rude phrasing! Rice, Tanhoiza, hit me up if you need me. Turbo's great for escape practice too," Rampage added.
They nodded. Bourbon countermeasures might be straightforward.
"She's adapting to long distances too, so we'll rush their menus. You'll help, Rampage-san?" Minamisaka asked.
"Count on it," she replied.
Teamwork meant stepping up, especially for Rice.
"Training with Big Sis feels warm and safe!" Rice beamed.
"Super reliable!" Tanhoiza agreed.
"You okay, Rampage-san?" Ikuno asked.
"Huh?! Zoned out… Swear I saw Mom and Dad yelling, 'Get back!'" Rampage gasped.
Minamisaka froze. Too sacred to share, but was this the "ascending from adoration" thing? He'd laughed it off before, but Rampage's intensity made it real.
"Long-distance training for you?" Minamisaka asked.
"Ugh, long-distance is rough for me," Rampage admitted.
As a Mejiro, she couldn't ignore the Tenno Sho, but spring's 3200m was too long.
"Dirt focus this year. Maybe autumn's Tenno Sho," she said.
"Got it. February Stakes first," Minamisaka confirmed.
He logged plans on his tablet. He'd said 70%, but she was over 80%. At this rate, she'd master dirt like turf, opening the global stage.
"Let's keep going," Minamisaka said.
"Hell yeah," Rampage replied.
"Proposal! Host a Tressen open campus on your stream!" the Director suggested.
"Keep pushing, and I'll sic Hatena's Fury Swipes on you," Rampage warned.
----------------------------------
Support me on Patreon - Advanced Chapters There!
patreon.com/Greyhounds